Africa PE and PP demand expected to slow by June end

13 June 2013 16:36[Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Demand for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) in western Africa remains strong at present, but seasonal weather conditions are expected to lead to a slowdown by the end of June, market sources said this week.

Increased buying ahead of Ramadan, which starts in early July, has also led to sustained demand in parts of Africa.

Southern African sales are limited mainly to local production as the weak rand means importers cannot compete with domestic material.

A trader said that demand in South Africa is around 10% lower than at the same time last year.

Demand across many derivative petrochemical markets in Europe is currently stable-to-soft compared with the second quarter in 2012, because a cold and wet spring, along with a weakened eurozone economy, has resulted in some markets seeing slower - and later - consumption than is typical.